Synjár Hvítr
by Craxnor King
Summary: Monsters seem to attract one another. Monsters, warriors, and killers. A deal with the devil to save those that matter and a struggle against the monster within while traveling with an arms dealer.


**Synjár Hvítr**

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

His finger still hurt. Well where his finger should be anyway.

Jason Brody had been through a very long and very, _very_ tiring day.

Sam, the German-accented/CIA special agent, and short met friend of Jason's had died that night. Killed by Hoyt after figuring out they had been undercover. Then, Hoyt, in the middle of gloating about how he had beaten them had taken Jason's left ring finger.

Jason returned the favor by stabbing him in the neck and head.

After killing the drug lord, Jason saved his brother, Riley, from being sold to some sick old fuck in Yemen. He had killed maybe around 200-300 of Hoyt's mercenaries escaping the compound. Jason didn't know; he'd lost track of how many men he'd killed a while ago.

And after _that_ experience, with his brother showing off his flying license in them getting away, Jason had to get his friends from the Rakyat temple.

There Citra had put him in some hallucination where he had fought demons and seen some odd visions of his friends.

He couldn't remember much of it.

And finally, he had been about to kill his friends… and Liza. Liza Snow was Jason's girlfriend. The one person in the entire world, for a time, that told him he was capable of greatness. Who he had gone through hell to save her and his friends from Vaas' pirates and Hoyt's mercs. Liza told Jason he had potential if he could put his mind to something he could make something of himself.

And he had put a knife to her throat only hours ago. Whether it was the hallucination wearing off, or whether it was a conscious decision Jason needed to make he didn't know. But despite the urging of Citra, the Rakyat's now deceased leader, he refused.

Liza was looking straight into his eyes, pleading, sobbing. And Jason had held her life in his hands. He could have killed her so easily. It would have been nothing compared to the soldiers he had killed merely hours before.

And those thoughts had _terrified_ him.

Jason had cut off her ropes and gotten Daisy to free Riley, Oliver, and Keith from theirs. Citra had continued to beg him to stay with her, but he couldn't, no he _wouldn't_ kill them.

But his rejection of Citra had caused Dennis, who Jason assumed was infatuated with the leader of the Rakyat, to attack him. Had Citra not jumped in the way Dennis would be dead, but that hadn't happened, and Citra died in Jason's arms.

While Douglas was weeping over his accidental murder, Jason had led his friends and brother back to the cave where their escape ship was.

Now, Daisy was making the final preparations for the ship. Keith and Oliver were hauling extra containers of fuel and their supplies for the trip ahead. Riley was going over their map, making sure we would be going the right direction and checking the nearest docks they could arrive at to get home. And Liza was wrapping gauss around Jason's now cleaned four-fingered left hand.

Jason had barely noticed the pain until they had gotten back to the cave. Maybe it was the adrenaline; he had been moving all night actively. It could be that he had been so drugged up that his pain tolerance had grown. Or, like he had been doing since the day he arrived here, had channeled that pain into anger and focused it at Hoyt.

The last one had seemed more likely.

"How the heck didn't you notice this?" Liza asked. A joke that betrayed the tiredness in her voice.

"Had a lot going on," Jason answered. "Saving Riley, and you guys, I kinda got distracted." He tried to play along with the joke, but he was also tired.

"Gonna is weird getting married though," a grim smile came on Jason's lips. A reminder of the joke Hoyt had made when he was taunting Jason's severed finger in his face.

Liza laughed. It was a nice laugh. A laugh he hadn't heard in so long. A laugh he would've never heard again if he…

If he had left.

"Was that a proposal?" she teased, a giggle still in her voice.

Jason was stunned. Completely shocked, to say the least. Had it come out like that?

She thumped his shoulder. "I was joking Jason, c'mon!" Her face became concerned. "Hey… are you ok?"

"Just tired," he answered lamely. "It's been a long day Liza."

"I bet it has. But hey, Jason looks at me." Her voice turned serious, and Jason looked at her. "Look over there," she pointed to the boat, "what do you see?"

"Keith and Oliver setting stuff on the boat," Jason answered dryly.

"And?" she asked.

"Daisy checking the engine and compass," Jason answered again.

"What else?" she prodded.

"Riley charting the map, guess those flying lessons taught him something about directions." He answered then stared at Liza. "What are you getting at?"

Liza's eyes turned soft and pointed to their friends. "Keith, Oliver, Daisy, Riley," she pointed to herself then at Jason. "Me and you." She finished.

Jason stared at her eyes a bit wide.

"Jason the moment we were all captured I thought this was it." She took a deep breath and continued. "I thought I was never going to see my family, my friends, or you ever again. But we're all here. We're a little broken and battered, some of us more than others," her gaze went to Keith and back to Jason, "but we're all back together. We're safe and about to go home."

She placed a small kiss on his forehead, which Jason mused may have some blood on it.

"Because of _you_." There was reverence in her voice, and love, in her voice.

Jason only put his eyes down. "Except for Grant."

Jason looked back up and saw sadness and compassion in her eyes.

"Jason," her voice comforting and sad, "you can't blame yourself for that, there wasn't anything you could've done."

She was right. Liza usually was.

It'd been a while since he had even thought about Grant. Every time he had, Jason had used it as sort of a well. Ever since he came to this island, he hadn't had time to be sad. Instead of sadness, he had channeled it all into his anger, his hatred, and his _fury_.

Every time he thought of Grant's death. His brother is choking on his blood as Vaas taunted them. With Jason being unable to help his brother, unable to stop the bleeding, unable to save his brother.

His big brother Grant, who had always been there when Jason needed him. The brother who had introduced him to Liza. Who had protected Jason and Riley from bullies when they were kids. Who had saved Jason from Vaas.

Who Jason was unable to save.

Jason felt his anger well up. He wanted to yell. He wanted to find the nearest bandit, mercenary, hell even a tiger and blow it to hell. But Jason reigned it in, and just clenched his fist. He was done. He. Was. Done.

With nothing to lash out at his anger disappeared and all that was left was the grief from that memory.

And Jason realized he couldn't see Liza's face. It took him a moment to realize he had been crying. He couldn't remember the last time he cried. He had been so focused on being angry. On taking every single mercenary and pirate, one after the other. Getting his friends back and off of the crazy island. Of becoming a warrior of the Rakyat.

He hadn't given himself time to grieve for his brother. To grieve for Sam.

Liza embraced him, and he found himself embracing her back. Her whispering in his ear, "It's ok Jason, It's ok." He let the tears flow. It felt good to let it out. He didn't scream, or sob, or cry out. He just held Liza and let the tears flow.

"Liza," he found his voice again, "about what happened a few days ago, I'm sorry."

"Jason." She let go of him and looked at his face, her eyes were a little red, but they had been for hours. "You came back; that's all that matters."

Just like that?

"But I left you guys," Jason didn't understand.

"And you came back." She said again. "When that freaky cult leader caught us…"

"Citra," Jason said without thinking. "Her name was Citra."

"Right, Citra." She amended looking concerned. "When she caught us, and you came through the temple," she shook her head, "You looked like you were dazed like you were high or something."

"It was something like that, yeah." Jason agreed. "I don't remember it that much."

"She was speaking to you and whispering in your ear." She continued. "You had this crazy look in your eyes like you were looking at a monster or something."

A mask flashed in his head.

"Yeah… a monster, maybe that was it." Jason said.

"Then when you got to me," she put a hand on her neck, "You put the knife to my neck, and your eyes changed, like they were surprised." She looked back at Jason looking ashamed. "I thought you were going to kill me."

Jason looked down, ashamed. He had been close to killing her. A small, almost microscopically small, voice _considered it_.

"But you didn't," softness entering her voice again, "you cut off my ropes and saved us, again."

"You're not afraid of me?" Jason asked before thinking, his voice cracking a little.

"I was afraid that I'd lost you," Liza admitted. Then she put a hand on his face, covered in unshaven hair. "I was afraid that you'd lost yourself."

But that was it; he hadn't. Since Jason had landed in this island he had never felt more certain of himself. Fighting for his life against another. Knowing that the last thing they knew was he had killed them. Taking outpost and towers right from under Vaas' and Hoyt's noses. Killing and becoming stronger. Jason had found himself not lost himself.

But when the time came for that choice. To fully embrace his new life. The life of a warrior. Jason had denied it.

He couldn't do it. When he saw her Liza's face. Her tears, begging Jason to stop. He had stopped.

All of the people, he'd killed. All of the destruction he'd brought. All of the blood he'd split.

When did the killing stop becoming about saving his friends, and had become about killing for himself?

That, though, that single thought made him stop. In his journey to save them, he _had_ lost himself. Justifying everything he did to save his friends had become twisted and morphed into killing for himself. Jason had never lost his goal, but he had lost the reason for it. More focused on revenge than getting everyone off of the island.

No more bloodshed, Jason had said. He had realized I before it was too late. He had to stop before it was too late before he went down the road that he could never get off.

Or he was already on it and was just staving off the inevitable.

"I'm not sure," Jason admitted.

Liza gave him a sad smile and patted the sleeping bag near the fire. "Why don't you get some rest, alright? You've had one hell of a day, we all have."

"Yeah." Jason agreed. "Sleep sounds good." He was tired.

"We're gonna be leaving in the morning." She placed on of her pillows next to his own; she remembered he always loved two pillows when sleeping; Liza was the best. "It should take us a day and a half to get to the nearest port."

"Cool," Jason said sleepily and started to close his eyes.

But almost suddenly his eyes grew wide and grasped Liza's arms and looked at her serious and coldness in his eyes. "If anyone comes here, if you even think someone's coming, wake me up."

"Jason," her eyes worried and widened a bit.

"Liza promise me," he saw the wariness in her eyes, " _please_."

She nodded. "I will, I promise."

And just as quickly as he had jumped, Jason flopped onto the pillow and fell asleep.

* * *

Jason had been the first to wake up, probably because he had been the first to go to sleep. Then again waking up before Daisy was an achievement in its own right.

He looked around and saw that most of the stuff they had brought to leave had already been put on the boat. The only things that weren't on the boat were their sleeping bags, the tent, some berries for breakfast.

And Jason's weapons.

They were all set up neatly next to the table. The undying bear pack he had made. The syringe kit that held several healing adrenaline syringes waiting to be used. His wallet that had about $9k more or less. His ammo pouch that held several hundred rounds of ammunition. His grenade and munition pouches, all holding some form of explosive. His fuel slings and rocket packs that he had left there several days before. His recurve bow and some arrows remaining.

In his gun holders was his signature weapons. The Shadow, a 1911 pistol with an extended magazine, silencer, and sight enhancer. The Bull, an M133 shotgun with enhanced shells and sight enhancer. The Bushman, a customized P416 with a silencer and optical scope. A Z93 sniper rifle with a silencer, high powered scope, and extended magazine.

Jason may be a warrior but had no illusion he was just as vulnerable to the next guy with a bullet through the head. That's why he usually gave them instead.

Jason would cause an uproar and use explosives when he needed to, hence the RPG and grenade launcher to the side of the table, but an unseen killer is a lot harder to hit and find than the guy shooting rockets.

Jason put on his gear and brought all of the extra on the boat. He wasn't sure if anything was waiting for them when they were going to leave the island. And he had no clue what would await them once they were in open waters.

So until then Jason was going to keep his weaponry on him until they got to a major port. Then once he was sure they were safe, he would dump all of it into the ocean, dismantled of course he wouldn't want a random diver to find an RPG. But he'd keep Shadow on him until they got to an airport.

The suggestion to just get a plane and have Riley fly them home was suggested and then shot down. Riley was still hurt; Doctor Earnhardt had removed the bullet from his brother's shoulder and patched him up. But he wasn't in any condition to fly them for multiple hours in a plane. A stolen plane most likely, since Jason would have to return to Hoyt's camp and take one if it was there, and there were probably still some of the drug lord's mercenaries out there who were either pissed at Jason for killing their employer, or scared shitless and trying to get the hell off the island as he was.

Jason didn't object to the idea of getting the plane initially. It would've been fairly simple for him to invade the base again and take a plain, Mercenaries or no mercenaries. But after thinking about it a bit more, he agreed it was a bad idea. How were they going to explain to the authorities how a bunch of college kids got a plane?

Jason took all of his stuff and put it on the back seat of the boat.

" _Is it a port or starboard?"_ Jason thought, he never really learned nautical terms. Most of the time he was on a boat the last few days have been spent blowing it or other boats up. Not learning the correct vocabulary or terms.

But everything was within reach if he needed it. And he put an extra AK-47 and P416 by the sides in case his friends needed to back him up.

Jason wasn't gunning for a fight; he had to remind himself. He was preparing for a fight that might happen. Not looking for one.

He had some spare time before they left, a few hours at least, and decided to check his gear.

Jason cleaned his weapons first. He noticed several times, mostly if not all from Vaas' pirates, on how an unclean and unkempt weapon could turn on you. A shotgun blast backward in your face for instance. Then he filled his syringe box with newly made concoctions. The plants on the island had some strong stuff, and with Jason's Tatau, saved his life on one or more occasions.

The Tatau was something magical; Jason was sure of that. The stronger he got, the more the ink spread on his arm. Or was it vice versa? But with it he was stronger and faster. There were some times that time would slow down for him and move faster than anyone could react. And with the syringes healing him and enhancing his sense, oh man he was almost unstoppable.

The Tatau was a symbol, a mark, that Jason was a warrior. It had stayed when he had rejected Citra and the Rakyat. Jason wasn't sure if it was permanent, or if it would disappear in time. But he hoped it wouldn't.

Not because of the enhancements and skills it gave him. But because it would be a permanent reminder. A reminder of what happened on the island, what he had to do and what he didn't have to but did anyway. That he had saved his friends and himself.

After finishing with his syringe pouch, Jason had begun organizing his ammo packs and making everything neat and uncluttered on the boat. When after a few seconds he heard footsteps walking closer.

Looking up Jason saw Oliver, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, walking to him and getting on the boat.

"Morning dude," Oliver said with a yawn escaping his voice.

"Hey Oliver," Jason responded, "You're up early."

"Yeah man, I went to sleep right after you did." He took some berries out of his pocket and starting eating them. "Didn't take any of the doc's stuff, though, wanted to be ready to go when we head out y'know."

Jason nodded. He understood what his friend meant. And he had to admit it was strange seeing Oliver that wasn't baked like a doughnut.

Oliver looked down at all of Jason's gear eyeing the guns in particular.

"Jesus man," Oliver said with a feeling of impressiveness in his voice, "You look like you're ready to go to World War 3."

That made Jason chuckle. "Nah man, just getting ready to head out. Just wanna make sure we get back home safe."

"Well, I feel sorry for the guy who tries," Oliver said whistling at Jason's RPG. "I mean, we got a certifiable badass with us."

Oliver extended his fist. Jason smiled and bumped him appreciating the praise.

"Thanks, man," Jason put his eyes down, "Hey Oliver?"

"Wassup." He said with a mouth full of berries.

"I-," Jason stammered thinking of the words. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess man. I shouldn't have dragged you along just so we could have more spending money, dude. And I almost got you sold as a sex slave to some sick fuck somewhere halfway across the world."

"Hey man it's no big deal," Oliver responded patting his friend on the arm. "Yeah the last few weeks have sucked, like black hole blowjob suck, but its good man. From the way I see it, I got off the easiest here."

"Huh?" Jason said confused.

"Well yeah I got roughed up a bit, but that's about it," Oliver explained. "They roughed me up, I told em about my parents and tried to convince them to let my folks pay the ransom to get all of you back. Next thing I know you're going Rambo on those fuckers and I'm running for my life to get here."

"You were pretty good with the AK, man I was impressed," Jason admitted reminded of getting his friend away from the pirates.

"Yeah, my dad gave me some gun lessons when I was a kid," Oliver admitted. "Good thing I wasn't high off my ass huh?"

Jason laughed. "Yeah you probably would've shot me."

Oliver shrugged. "Maybe, but yeah I got off the easiest here. I mean Daisy got sick and attacked by a panther, Liza had her own version of the taken movie, and Keith got messed up by that creep Buck."

"He told you about that!" I whispered shocked, but not raising my voice.

Oliver nodded. "Told us last night, we knew something was bothering him and that creepy ass ceremony last night had him freaked out. Told us what the douche did to him and how you got him out and killed him, fuckin An of you right there man."

Jason nodded, a grim smile on his face. "Killed him with the knife, he sent me all over the fucking island for."

"That was the weird stone lizard knife right?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah," Jason answered.

"But yeah, Riley got shot and tortured," Jason felt his stomach turn cold at that memory. "And Grant died… man, I'm sorry about that, your brother was a nice guy."

"Yeah," Jason agreed, "He was the best."

"And you went off the deep end for a bit, I mean I don't blame you dude this place is crazy." Oliver continued. "I'm having second thoughts about coming back here and just convincing the doc to come with me."

"You're not going to stay here?" Jason asked.

"Don't get me wrong man the drugs here are from another freaking world," Oliver said. "But I need to see my folks, and I dunno maybe this was all a life changing experience to put my life on the right path."

Oliver waved his hand. "Or some other existential rebirth crap."

"Deep." Jason joked.

They laughed, and Jason set down the ammo packs. Jason looked over to the campfire and saw that everyone else was getting up.

Jason saw Liza look around not seeing Jason on his sleeping bag and looked towards the boat. He waved his four-fingered hand at her with a smile on her face. A small smile showed on her face, and she turned and started to pack.

They were going to leave soon. They were going to leave the island.

* * *

"Ok, so we all know the plan?" Daisy said looking at everyone right outside the boat.

They nodded.

"We leave and head south of the islands," she pointed at the map Riley held, "And head to Khiri Khan. It should take us a day and a half to sail there and we have more than enough resources to get there."

"Now once we're in sight place, Jason?" she looked at him.

"I drop the weapons we have in the water, but keep the side arms until we get to Bangkok."

Daisy nodded. "Right, and thanks to Jason we have over $75K. It should be more than enough to get a ride to the city and a plane ride back, right Keith?"

"Yeah," Keith answered. "It's about a little over a thousand each. We should have a ton left to get new clothes and call for home."

"Good to hear." Daisy grinned at Keith. "Finally, Riley and I will be taking shifts sailing the boat," she looked at Jason's little brother, "You're still good to sail right?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he answered. "My shoulder's still a bit sore, but I'll be fine."

Jason patted his brother's back. Concern for his brother's condition, but proud of him for taking the bullet wound in stride. Riley was his brother; he was strong.

"Anything else to add?" Daisy asked. Jason raised his hand, and they all looked to him.

"Look, I know we've all been thought hell the last few days," a bunch of nods to his statement, "But we're not out of the frying pan yet."

Jason's eyes turned hard, and steel was in his voice. "If we see any other ships, any of the pirates or mercenaries, everyone gets down, and you do everything I say." He saw his friends look apprehensive, but he ignored it. "If you can use a gun then grab one, but until we're safe and away from this island I need you all to trust me."

All of them without a second of hesitation nodded, and Jason heard a mix of sure and of course.

Jason smiled and nodded.

"Then I think we're ready to go," Daisy said. "Jason you set up the explosives to get rid of the boulders right?"

"Yeah, they're all set up." He answered. The way out of the cave was blocked by several boulders leading to the outside. Some left over C4 Jason had would be more than enough to open up a way through.

Jason flipped the switch and a brand new hole opened in the cave. Then everyone pushed the Boat into the water and got on. Riley and Daisy were at the helm and the captain's seat. Keith and Oliver were sitting by themselves on the opposite sides of the boat. And Jason was sitting next to Liza and his guns.

Jason held his customized Z93 Sniper rifle. If any boat tried coming near them, he'd be able to take out the steersman and stop them dead in the water. Shadow was in his pants holster and an RPG near his feet for good measure.

"You think any of the Pirates are going to chase us?" Liza asked.

Jason looked at her and back at his weapons. She sounded tense, but whether it was for Jason or the pirates he wasn't sure.

"Maybe," he said quietly. "But just in case," Jason loaded a fresh clip into the bolt-action rifle, "we're gonna be ready."

"Well, you're the expert here." She said her eyes downcast.

Jason went to pat her back or draw her close but decided against it. He didn't know what to say to her. Jason knew that Lisa didn't want him killing anymore, hell she had been the only one to call him out when he was going native. Jason still loved her, and he was pretty sure she still loved him.

But things had changed.

This island it had hit them all in some way. They'd lost Grant, Daisy had almost died, Liza had almost died and lost Jason, Oliver had almost been sold halfway across the world, Riley had been tortured and beaten, and Jason had almost gone off the deep end.

" _Or,"_ he thought, _"I already have."_

Jason looked over to the island and kept it there. Daisy and Riley would let him know if anyone was coming in front of them or from deeper waters. So he watched the island making sure no roaming pirates of privateers got any bright ideas.

Looking at it from a distance no one would ever guess the true nature of the place. Beautiful weather on most days, exotic plants and animals roaming freely, and green forest all around. Even the beaches had white sand and clear water. From above and distance it was a paradise from every angle.

A grim smile touched Jason's lips. It was a lie, all of it. The forest was incredible but held at least one dangerous animal from every part of the world and were full of pirates. The clear water held sharks and corpses. The beaches held rubble of wars gone past and looters to boot. It was a trap where the strong survived and the weak were trampled on.

Where the strong go insane.

There was something _wrong_ with the island. Maybe it was something in the air, the water, or the magic tattoos. But this island changed people. From the history that Jason had learned while he was here, people came here and conquered it only to go mad.

" _Was that going to happen to me?"_ Jason wondered. _"Would I have gone insane too?"_

He contemplated that as they headed towards the southern island.

Jason still didn't see any signs of an attack. Or even any patrols by the mercenaries. Maybe after Hoyt's death, they all high-tailed it out of there, who knew.

Jason looked back to the boat to check on everyone. Riley was talking to Daisy about sailing and weather or something; it was hard to hear over the engine and the surf. Keith and Oliver were playing I, Spy, probably to pass the time, and Keith was winning with Oliver only being able to see the ocean. And Liza was writing in a journal; Jason couldn't see what she was writing.

She turned and raised an eyebrow at him, to which Jason turned away acting like he wasn't doing anything wrong. She scoffed playfully and went back to writing trying to keep the water from hitting the paper.

Jason smiled and turned back to the island. At this point, they should be going pass Hoyt's docking bay.

At which Jason's stomach sank.

There near the harbor was a giant cargo ship. It was filled to the brim with boxes and crates of all colors. The ship was so big it could've eaten 10 of their boat and had room for fourths.

And it was moving to get right in front of them.

"Daisy!" Jason yelled.

"I see it!" She yelled back. "What do you want me to do?"

"Stop the boat!" He yelled.

She did, and everyone immediately got down while Jason moved up to Daisy.

"What now?" She asked.

"Everyone grab a weapon," Jason said immediately. "Grab what you can shoot and stay down."

Jason looked over and saw Liza grab A2000 submachine gun, Oliver grabed an AK-47, Keith took the RPG, and Jason threw Riley the Bushman.

"Now we wait," he looked at Daisy, "If they start coming towards us move around them but stay as far away as you can alright."

She nodded. "Yeah, but what if they come after us?"

"I'll see if I can take out the pilot." Jason shrugged. "If not I'll get on the boat and take it out from the inside."

"Can you do that?" Riley asked surprised.

Jason almost smiled. "Done it before." He looked back to Daisy. "If it comes to that I want you to stay as far away from them as possible I'll tell you guys when it's safe if that happens."

"How will we know if it's safe?" Keith asked.

Jason reached over ship's counter to grab a small red gun.

"I'll send out a flare."

Keith nodded accepting the answer.

So they waited as they watched the cargo ship. And it was still headed straight towards them.

Daisy started the boat and proceeded to move around to the right side of the ship. Jason motioned for everyone to get down and to hide their weapons as best as they could. He put his Z93 to his side and brought up his camera to get a better look at the ship.

Jason had gotten the camera when he had first arrived on the Rook Islands. It had allowed him on multiple occasions to spot pirates and animals from a safe distance. And thanks to the tatau once he had marked someone or somethings he could track it.

It was hard to explain, but since he got the magical tattoo he had been able to place marks on people. And if they were at a decent or well enough distance he could always see where they were. It had freaked Jason out at first when he had been able to see an outline of a pirate through solid wood and followed his movements trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

But after getting used to it and being able to see symbols on the people and creatures he marked when he did, it had been almost impossible for anyone to catch Jason when he sneaked around enemy outpost and infiltrations.

Also made it easier to snipe and entire outpost from a distance.

He zoomed the camera to max and tried to get a look at the ships inhabitants.

There were two on the upper deck near the helm. Two women from the looks of it but it were still too far to tell. He just focused and put two marks on them. Looking around he saw what looked to be a large man near the left side of the ship and a cloth concealing something on the other side. Jason looked to the crates to see if there was anything there.

And he saw the muzzle of a sniper rifle. He instantly placed a marker on the gunman with a crosshair over him. He was laying down between two crates and on top of another. Jason kept an eye on the sniper and looked around a bit more.

Jason looked to the top of the tower towards the back of the ship and saw a man crouching down with a gun in his hand.

"Shit," Jason said putting the camera away after he marked the second sniper.

"What is it?" Daisy whispered.

"I saw five of them; I don't know where the rest are hiding if there even are any more of them," Jason answered.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Riley said. "That should be easy for you, right Jason?"

"Probably," Jason said, "If it weren't for the two snipers aiming straight at us."

"Shit!" Keith swore ducking his head down further. "You serious?"

"Yeah," Jason said picking up his Z93 and grabbing his syringe pouch. "I could probably take out the guy on the tower, but the second I shoot the other sniper would be on me in a second, and I have no idea what the other three are packing, or what's under that tarp over on the side."

Jason grabbed two syringes. One that enhanced his perception and another that enhanced his speed. With these and the tatau he should be able to take care of both of the snipers and whoever else comes through. But they were still a vulnerable target, and with everyone else on board, Jason wasn't ready to start a fight.

Well... partly anyway.

They were almost near the front of the ship. Jason had everyone leave their weapons down, but in reach with him doing the same. He kept eyes on both of the snipers making sure neither made any sudden moves hoping to react fast enough. If they started a fight.

They were about twenty feet from the ship at this point when a loud voice began to yell at them.

"Yoo-hoo!" a female voice yelled at them, it sounded like it had come through a microphone. "Does Jason Brody happen to be on that boat?"

Jason immediately brought up the Z93 and aimed it at the sniper by the crates. The man had moved over several crates closer to the bridge. He probably assumed Jason knew where he was, which Jason did, and got a different position. Jason had aimed at the sniper's new spot.

Only for the large tarp to be removed from the rails to reveal a Minigun.

Jason immediately aimed the rifle at the gunman. His heart was thumping wildly, adrenaline pumping through his veins. They were trapped, and Jason wanted nothing more than to show them what happened to people who tries to trap him.

He was seconds away from taking out the gunner, planning out how to take care of the other two snipers and whoever else was on the boat. When he looked down and saw Riley.

Riley was shaking. He was on the ground waiting for Jason's signal to get up and start shooting, but he was scared. Riley hadn't even been in a gunfight yet. This made Jason look back at the rest of his friends.

Liza had her hands over her head with the submachine gun; she was shaking too. Daisy was still as stone, her eyes glued to the Minigun. Oliver was breathing deeply, holding the AK-47 to his chest. Keith was laying down with the RPG, his finger on the trigger murmuring to himself over and over again.

They were terrified. Of all of them only Liza and Oliver had actually been in a gunfight. And even during that Jason was the one doing most of the fighting.

Jason could survive this. But they didn't have a chance in hell.

"Shit!" Jason swore. Not knowing what to do. He needed to get them out of here, but he couldn't do that by creating a warzone.

"While I admire your willingness to go guns blazing I would prefer to not turn that little boat of yours into a funeral pyre." The woman's voice rang out again. "Now I have no wish to start a firefight here; I just want to talk."

The gunman lifted the Minigun, and Jason noticed the two outlines of the snipers lifted up their weapons.

It was almost a perfect chance. Jason could take out the gunman first, kill the sniper closest to them in the crates, grab Keith's RPG and shoot down the man on the tower in less than a minute. But that was assuming that they didn't have any other soldiers lying in wait for them that Jason didn't spot.

"Jason," Daisy whispered, her voice shaking. "What do we do?"

They all looked at Jason. The same question in their eyes.

Jason took a deep breath and took out the two syringes. He gave himself the two quick injections. His vision is becoming clearer, his sense sharper, and everything seeming to slow down. He didn't even feel the sting from the needles anymore.

Jason took a deep breath and looked back to his friends. "Stick to the plan. I'm going to go up there and see what they want."

"What!" Liza said, shocked. "You can't seriously be going up there. Jason, they'll kill you!"

"Liza if we try to run, or if I try to fight, then all we are going to die!" Jason retorted back, leaving out that he might be the only one to get out.

"But what if they…" she started saying. Jason walked over and put her hands on her face.

"It'll be ok Liza," Jason said quietly. "Just stick to the plan alright?" He placed a kiss on her forehead and turned back to the rest of his friends. "If you hear gunfire you leave, push the gas as fast as you can."

He turned to Oliver and Keith. "If it gets to that you need to take down the Minigun and make sure they can't catch you alright?" His two friends nodded in agreement.

He grabbed the flare gun and put it in his right pocket, the tanto blade in its sheathe, and Shadow in the gun holster under his shirt.

"I'll be back," Jason told them and jumped into the water towards the cargo ship.

* * *

It took Jason a minute to get to the ladder of the ship. It took another to climb the damn thing.

Jason saw the man in the crates reposition himself to where the ladder ended. He saw the two women coming towards him, the man at the top of the tower staying locked onto his position, and the man with the Minigun moving towards the top of the ladder.

When Jason finally got onto the deck of the ship his fears were realized when he saw six individuals, including the two girls he marked, staring right at him. Four of the six all had machine guns on him, and enhanced speed or not it'd be almost impossible not to get hit by one of them.

Jason looked around to get a good look at them. The closest was a tall black guy, clean shaven head, three earrings in his left ear, and a pair of glasses. Second was a medium brown haired guy, looked Italian, and was wide with muscle. Third, to the far left of Jason was a mammoth of a man, clean shaven head like the black guy but way more muscled, he was also the guy Jason marked on the Minigun. Next was another guy with glasses, looked Japanese, and was a little on the slimmer side like Jason was.

Next were the two girls. The larger of the two stood farthest from Jason and she only had a pistol and a large knife with her, neither were drawn. So either she was going to wait for Jason to make a move or she didn't think he was dangerous. She had black hair, pale skin, and an eyepatch, so she was blind on her right side.

She also had the biggest tits Jason had ever seen. Like weird Japanese cartoon, anime he thought it was called, big. Had it not been for the guns and the glare she was giving him he would've been having a hard time not staring at them. Which helped by looking at the rest of her, which to say was lean and muscled like hell.

Which left the last girl.

Now Jason had never met any albino's before. But he was sure they were supposed to be oddly disfigured and have red eyes or something. This woman wasn't. She was almost snow white, joke not implied. Hair lips, face, hell even her suit and shoes were pure white. She had long hair, smooth and silky looking. But no gun, either she was confident she wasn't going to be hurt, or she was stupid.

And considering where they were and where he was, Jason would assume the former. And unlike everyone else she had a smile that almost seems to be glued onto her face. It was a mix of smug and amusement of the situation.

Jason looked at them all and made sure to mark every one of them. All of their bodies became highlighted in Jason's vision. Above their heads was a skull he used to generalize the pirates and mercenaries.

After that, there was just silence.

"What do you want?" Jason said trying his best to sound threatening.

"Usually people introduce themselves before they start asking a question." The woman said, a playful tone in her voice.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Jason repeated a snarl creeping into his voice.

Jason saw the girl in the back narrow her eyes and grab her gun. He flexed his fingers; the enhancements were still running through his blood, and he could move faster than them for sure. Jason moved his eyes between the two snipers. The one on the tower was still facing him, and the second on in the crate had moved a third time towards the top of the crates to Jason's left.

He would have to get cover and take out the sniper first. That way he would be able to take down the others with a mix of misdirection and explosives. He'd give it about five minutes before everyone on this ship would be dead.

No… no he needed to take out the sniper so his friends could get away. Then the rest of the boat would be too focused on him to chase after them.

Jason thought about it a bit more. He promised not to look for a fight; the woman had said she wanted to talk not fight.

Jason took a deep breath and looked at the woman in front of him.

"My name is Jason Brody." He said trying his best to sound calm. "What do you want?"

Her smile widened. "My name is Koko Hekmatyar; I'm an arms dealer for the H&C Logistics Incorporated." She turned and inclined her head towards the cockpit. "And we need to talk, follow me."

She turned to walk towards the stairs leading to the inside of the ship, and the big one of the group inclined his gun for Jason to follow her.

Jason walked behind Koko, weird name, and followed her up the stairs. He turned and saw the man that was hiding in the crates begin to move out of them and the one on the tower began to descend.

When the black-haired girl opened the door for Koko Jason walked in the right after her. Then the woman and the large man stepped inside the room and closed the gate.

Jason narrowed his eyes. Now he couldn't keep an eye on his friends in the boat and all of the arms dealer's men. Then again, with only two of them in the room with him it would be much easier to get rid of them.

He shut down that thought immediately. This situation didn't require shooting everyone to get out of it. Only a talk.

At least for now.

The room was fairly average. Almost like a business room. There were two couches facing one another with a wooden table in between. Several chairs were strewn about the room. And there were several tapes and one of those boxy T.V's that Jason used to see when he was in school. It had a VHS and everything.

Koko sat on the left couch and gestured to the right.

"Please, sit."

He did, and the black haired woman sat beside Koko, and the large man stood behind Jason.

Jason looked down and on the table were 3 VHS tapes with a date scrawled on each of their sides.

"Now Mr. Brody," she began still smiling, "would you have any idea why I brought you here?"

Jason thought. She was an arms dealer, which means she dealt in selling weapons. And from the looks of it she had left the port. Which could only mean one thing.

She was in business with Hoyt.

" _Shit!"_ What Jason swore in is head.

"Hoyt," Jason answered. "You're in business with Hoyt."

Jason hated saying the man's name out loud. That hatred had bled into his voice a bit, but not by much.

"We _were_ in business with Hoyt Volker," emphasizing the past tense, "but it seems that is no longer the case."

Jason said nothing. It was the safest move; she obviously wanted to talk. So he would listen for now.

"It was quite a surprise." Koko continued. "We had docked last night, a little bit after midnight, and no one came to greet us. We had a designated time and everything!" her voice sounded almost too jovial for what she was talking about.

"So I decided the call him to yell and be pissed about his lack of decency in picking up the merchandise he ordered, but no one answered." Her voice is full of mock surprise. "So obviously I got several members of my crew here to go with me to his compound and give him a piece of my mind."

She picked up the first tape.

"So we got the compound and guess what we found?" she said, her blue eyes looking directly into his.

Jason said nothing. He knew what she was getting into. Better he let her play her game.

"Corpses." She said, her voice keeping the same upbeat tone. "Hundreds of corpses, all of them trained mercenaries. In fact, there were also destroyed ships, helicopters, even cars. The entire compound and everything around it looked like the aftermath of a war zone."

"Now I had heard that Hoyt had been having problems with the natives of the island attacking his business." She continued. "It was why he reached out to us; he wanted new equipment and weapons to better deal with it."

"So…" she drawled. "I naturally assumed that the natives had finally had enough and assaulted his base of operations, but I realized something odd." Her eyes went to the tanto sticking out behind his back.

"There wasn't a single native corpse. So I had to assume that there had been a team of experts that came out and took out everyone there."

Koko handed the tape to the black haired woman. The woman nodded and put the tape into the VHS player.

"Until I found this."

The TV clicked on, and Jason looked towards at it.

On the screen were three men at a table. There were two mercenaries inside the room. And Jason could see there was one mercenary right outside of the room.

Jason knew the three people at the table. It was Hoyt, Sam, and himself. He saw a recording of last night. Jason hadn't even noticed there was a camera in there.

Then again it made sense to have a camera in your office.

Jason watched the video as the Jason in the video played down his cards. Almost immediately, Hoyt grabbed a knife and plunged it into Sam's neck. Sam shuddered for a second and the mercenary's in the room grabbed Jason and threatened him with their guns to keep playing.

Jason stared at Sam's corpse. Even now the very fact that he wasn't able to stop it infuriated him. He wasn't fast enough to save his friend.

He'd only known Sam for a day and the man was easily one of the better men on the island, quirks and all.

Jason continued to watch the video. Hearing Hoyt gloat to his face while Sam died right next to him. Hoyt asked him his price; Jason told him to go fuck himself, and they continued the card game.

Then the Jason in the video was held down, and Hoyt grabbed the knife he used to kill same and cut off Jason's left ring finger.

His hand stung, remembering the pain, and the anger that came with it.

Then the video got weird.

Hoyt dangled the severed finger in front of Jason. And suddenly Jason head-butted the mercenary to his right, grabbed his knife and stabbed the one holding his left arm. It happened almost in the blink of an eye and even Hoyt was stunned. Jason saw his TV self take up one of the dead mercenary's side-arms and shoot both of the mercenaries who had just come into the room.

Jason turned his attention back to Hoyt. When one of the mercenaries suddenly ran into the room and tackled Jason. The mercenary had started to beat Jason with his shotgun, but Jason stabbed the man through the neck and took his shotgun away from him.

Hoyt was on top of Jason in an instant and was about to bring down the knife when Jason shot a shell straight into the drug lords chest. Blood exploded from the room and was now littered with corpses.

TV Jason had taken out some gauss and wrapped it around his severed finger. After a quick second TV, Jason looked around a bit dazed, picked up his gun and left the building.

Jason scrunched up his face. That wasn't how he had remembered it. He had remembered having a knife fight against Hoyt, the man taunting Jason and Jason giving him a retort right back. He hadn't even remembered killing the other mercenaries.

Had Jason hallucinated the whole thing?

The video ended and the tape left the player.

"The other two tapes are your escape from Hoyt Volker's compound," Koko spoke causing Jason to turn back to her. "The rest of the tapes I recovered showed the outposts he controlled across the south island, and in every one, it shows you systematically killing each and every mercenary under his employ."

Jason didn't understand. What was the history lesson for? Was she trying to prove that he did all of that, or was it something else?

"I must admit, I almost thought I was watching a movie!" she exclaimed, disbelief filling her voice. "One undercover mercenary loses his partner, kills the drug lord, rescues his brother, and kills over 200 men armed to the teeth. All by himself!"

Jason stiffened and clenched his hands. She knew about Riley, which means she also knew about everyone on the boat. He narrowed his eyes and tensed, he wasn't about to let another black market dealer take away his brother or his friends.

"And to be truthfully honest I'm downright terrified right now!" Jason looked and almost recoiled. There was a manic gleam in her eyes. "Just thinking that there is a human being out there that can do this is horrifying, and he's sitting not four feet away from me!"

"That's enough!" Jason snarled, he couldn't help it. "Enough with the fucking history lesson! Either tell me what you want or I'm leaving!" His voice rose at the end. He was getting nervous, and he needed to get back to the boat.

"How dare you yell at Koko like that!" The black haired woman stood up and reached for her knife.

Jason was moving before she had removed the knife. He jumped up and elbowed the large man behind him. He staggered back, grabbing his nose in pain, and Jason took that opportunity to take his gun and kick him away.

Then just as fast he used the assault rifle to block the knife attack to his face. The knife punctured through the gun, effectively making it useless, and Jason twisted the firearm to get the woman to let go of the knife. She had, but with some effort on his part, and took his tanto blade intending to stab her through the neck.

It turns out she was just as good with a knife.

The woman took out a second knife and thrust towards Jason. He blocked it with his tanto and ducked as she threw a right hook to his face. He wasn't prepared to for the knee though as it came out of nowhere and landed right in his stomach.

The woman was strong as hell, but Jason was no stranger to pain. He almost lost his breath, but he grabbed the woman by the shirt with his free hand and flipped her over his back. She was surprised he was able to do that and is showed as she didn't react when he took the tanto and was about to plunge it down into her neck.

"ENOUGH!" a voice filled with such authority and weight that Jason stopped an inch away from the black haired woman's neck.

Her eye was wide and Jason saw that she had reached for the submachine gun strapped to her side. Jason was breathing heavily and looked back to the man behind him. The huge man had a Desert Eagle in his hands aimed right at Jason's head.

He could quickly slash her neck and duck at the same time. Then Jason would be able to take on the large man easily.

He shook his head. He needed to calm down. Starting a fight here would get everyone killed. The sniper on the tower was still there, and he saw the outlines of the two men outside about to open the door.

Jason took a deep breath and sheathed his tanto.

The door immediately burst open, and the Italian and black guy came in. "Ma'am we heard some noises is everything alright!"

Jason looked to Koko. She was still sitting down, a smile still on her face.

"Yes R, I'm fine." She waved off the question and looked over to the large man. "Ugo, are you ok?"

"Yes, ma'am." He grunted in pain. His nose was bent to the left and had some blood running down it. He lowered his gun but didn't put it away. "Just got me by surprise is all."

"There you see." Koko waved. "Everything's fine, so please let us resume our business R."

The Italian, who Jason now knew as R, stared at Jason for a second, then nodded. "If you say so." And he closed the door.

"Valmet," Koko directed towards the black haired woman. "Please sit back down."

Valmet had picked up her knife. And had put the blade back in it's sheathe. She looked a mix of furious and ashamed.

"I'm sorry Koko." Her voice shook, and looked like she was about to be scolded by a parent. "I lost my temper."

Koko rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry about it," Koko replied nonchalantly. "It's because you care."

Jason watched Valmet's reaction. He raised his eyebrows at it. The woman was blushing and looked like she had just been handed a present.

"But there will be a punishment after this meeting." Koko continued as calm as she had been.

And just as quickly, Valmet hung her head in despair.

"I'm sorry about that," Koko said, her voice now directed at Jason. "Valmet has been with me a very long time. She's quite protective of me."

Jason took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. "Just tell me what you want so we can get this over with." His voice was annoyed and held barely restrained fury.

Koko nodded. "I think that's enough beating around the bush. Jason Brody, I want to hire you."

Jason frowned. Hoyt had offered Jason that choice before. Jason had had eloquently refused the drug lord with the utmost respect, i.e., 'fuck you.' Then Jason lost a finger and Hoyt lost his life and business.

So, after mulling it over for several seconds, Jason had made his choice.

"No."

The smile didn't leave the arms dealers face. "Are you sure?" she questioned. "If you worked for me, you would be able to see the world. Not only that, but you would be paid quite well."

"I said no," Jason replied not listening to the offers.

Koko sighed. "Well, then that leaves me no choice." She reached behind her back, and Jason almost sprang up again, but instead of a weapon, she brought out several papers. She placed the papers on the table near Jason.

Jason looked at the papers and recognized what it was. It was like a shopping receipt. But instead of groceries, it was aircraft, jeeps, and weapon shipments. All of the items had their prices right next to them.

Jason's stomach dropped at the total price of all of the shipments. Thinking back on it, Jason should have tried to save up some more cash before they left the island.

"In there is a list of supplies and weapons we were to deliver to Mr. Hoyt Volker," Koko said, her tone businesslike. "But because of his untimely death, at _your_ hands, he is no longer able to purchase the requisitions he ordered. Thus the HCLI has lost a customer and over a $4 million deal."

Jason looked up, not understanding where she was getting at. "What are you-?"

"So naturally," she interrupted him, "you owe us reimbursement."

"What?" Jason rasped, flabbergasted.

"Jason Brody, you owe HCLI $4,237,667.92." Her smirk became dangerous and predatory.

"The fuck I do!" Jason raised his voice, his anger coming back. "That psycho made the deal with you guys, not me!"

"That may be." Koko nodded, but her eyes grew more dangerous. "But, you killed one of our customers on this island, and it would be bad for our image and business to just allow this failure of transaction."

"And how the hell am I going to pay that?" Jason asked his voice still angry.

"Well, if you don't have the money on hand there are other ways to ensure payment." She looked towards the door. "Your friends on the boat for example…"

"Leave them out of this, or so help me I'll show _you_ a funeral pyre!" Jason snarled, unable to keep the anger out of his voice.

Koko brought up her hands in a placating gesture. "No, no I didn't mean it like that. I meant that your friends have some wealthy connections and could get the payment. Unlike some certain drug lords, I don't debase myself in things like human trafficking."

"Of course not," Jason said in a dry tone. "You just sell them weapons."

Koko laughed. It was a strange laugh, part manic and joyful.

"Touché."

"I can't get them or their parents to pay that," Jason said, his voice becoming low.

"Then the only other option is to work off the debt." She replied nonchalantly. "That or trying to kill everyone on this ship, which I don't suggest by the way."

"You're blackmailing me," Jason growled.

"Blackmail is such a negative word." She replied. "I prefer to say I'm negotiating a deal with a future associate. More of a mouthful, yes, but I don't feel like scum saying it."

"I'm not a mercenary," Jason argued.

"Of course not," Koko said absently. "You're a killer; I'd even go so far as to say you're a monster." Her, eyes suddenly became cold and hard.

Jason looked down, unable to argue against what she said. He had said as much to himself already.

"But I think there could be more to you." She continued, and he looked back to her face. "I see someone with potential, with the skills to accomplish the impossible. Come join me, and you won't ever have to worry about your destiny again."

Jason raised an eyebrow at her statement.

"I read some of your personal files," Koko admitted. "Directionless, roaming from one job to another. Amazing athlete, a natural in almost any sport you participated in. All of it speaks of a man who has no idea what to do with his life."

Jason thought about her offer again. Traveling with an arms dealer. It would be dangerous, exhilarating, and he might even fight and kill people across the world. He could seek glory again, become a warrior again.

Then he remembered the knife, the temple, Liza crying. And shut down those thoughts instantly. She had a natural pull to others when she spoke; Jason had almost been enthralled by it.

"No, I'm done." Jason said, echoing the words from last night. "No more fighting, no more killing. Once we get home it's over."

"And you honestly think it's that simple?" Koko said, her voice had a condescending tone to it. "You think that once you get back home to that little social bubble of yours, everything is going to be good and happy."

She started to chuckle, and it was nastier than her laugh.

"Don't be so naïve. The world is full of conflict and people trying to murder and kill each other. That's life plain and simple." Her eyes turned cold, and her smile disappeared. "I don't think you understand the generous gift I'm offering you Jason. You killed a very rich and very influential drug lord. One, who had ties to criminal organizations across the world and even small countries."

She leaned forward staring straight into his eyes.

"And you _killed_ him. All of his clients would be rather angry to learn that some nobody from California killed their import of sex slaves and drugs."

"Yeah…" Jason said keeping his tone calm. "And how the hell are they gonna find out, you have all the tapes."

Koko nodded. "I do, and if one of my clients wishes to know what happened on the Rook Islands and Hoyt Volker." She shrugged. "Then I would naturally have to comply."

Jason clenched his hands so hard they turned white.

"That is," she continued, "unless the said individual they were looking for happened to be under my employment."

He was trapped. If he didn't agree then he had over $4 million in debt, criminals aligned with Hoyt, and putting his friends in even more danger. But if he agreed then he would go back to killing again, probably never see his home again if he could even work off the debt, and leave everyone behind.

Jason wanted to kill her. He wanted to kill everyone on the boat, crush all of the tapes, set the damn thing on fire and watch the explosion. And he could do it too. The syringes enhancements were still coursing through his blood, so he was still the fastest and strongest person on the ship.

And if he did that then his friends were as good as dead.

Jason hung his head and breathed slowly and took several deep breaths. The first to calm his anger, and the second to think clearly.

"If I accept," Jason began, his voice a whisper. "Then I have some conditions."

Jason looked and saw Koko's face. It was smug as hell.

"Well let's hear them." Her face still smug.

"The first thing that happens after this is you take me and my friend's home." Jason saw Koko raise her eyebrows at the request. "Then after I get them home, then I'll call you, and we can move on from there."

Koko nodded. "That seems doable; we can stop at Bangkok and get you a plane home."

"Second, no innocent people. If its people were dealing with then it's alright, they knew what they were getting into. But if you start involving random people in this shit then I'm coming after you." Jason had fought the free the people of the islands from Hoyt and Vaas. He may have become a monster, but Jason wouldn't let what happened to him, and his friends happen to other people just because they were caught in the crossfire.

Koko nodded again. "Of course, I don't make it a habit of getting people with normal lives involved in this business. But I would watch the death threats if I were you. Anything else?"

Jason thought to himself. Was there anything else? If he agreed to this, then his friends would be able to go home. He could get rid of that stupid debt and depending on how well he did he could pay her back.

But, a part of Jason was thrilled. The chance to go back, not to the islands, but to the fighting. The thrill of taking another life and being the strongest. Even as he shook his head to throw away those thoughts, the feeling still remained.

"If I start killing people randomly." Jason said his voice becoming hollow. "If I'm starting fights and looking for more." He turned his eyes to Koko trying his hardest to convey how serious he was. "Then kill me."

Koko's eyes widened at that. As did Valmet, who more or less scrunched up her one eye in confusion.

"That's rather specific. Can I ask why?" Koko asked.

Jason stared at the tapes then to his hands. "I've killed so many people I've lost count. I can't come back from this. I'm a monster." Jason clenched his hands into a fist, a snarl forming on his words. "I can _feel_ the anger inside of me." He unclenched his fist and then looked back at the arms dealer. "But I am still, somewhere inside me, more than that. _Better_ than that."

He had been naïve, but he wouldn't give up. He would join this woman, this arms dealer. He would pay off her debt and go back home. Jason didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, and maybe he was a natural born killer. But _he_ chose what his life would be. And being a warrior, a killer, wasn't it.

He thought of Grant. His brother had always said Jason would make a good soldier.

Koko extended her hand. "Then we have a deal."

Jason shook her hand. Hoping he hadn't made a deal with a devil.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 _Ok so I finished watching Jormungand the other day, great series kinda weird ending. Anyway, I looked up fanfiction for it and found very little. Then I thought what could work for this, and for some reason I thought of FarCry. And I thought holy shit that would make an awesome fic. So I started writing and couldn't stop._

 _I'm also incorporating the gameplay mechanics into the story as actual abilities Jason gained. As a way to explain how he killed so many people and how Vaas was always able to get the drop on him in the game._

 _Right now this is just a one-shot to test the waters and see how everyone feel's. Please review and give me your opinions._

 _KoS has a finished outline for the story and Ch. 8 is about 1/3 done. A Colorful World had a decent outline right now, designing OC's, and chapter 4 is about 1/5 done._

 _Love you all and be funky._


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